World News Quick Take

AGENCIES

■PAKISTAN

Taliban kill Afghan man

Taliban militants shot dead an abducted Afghan in the lawless northwest tribal region, accusing him of spying for the US, an official said yesterday. The bullet-riddled body of Islam-ud-din was found dumped by the road in the Sheratalla area, 40km north of Miranshah, the main town in the troubled North Waziristan region. “Islam, who was kidnapped two weeks ago, had multiple bullet wounds on his body,” police official Mehboob Khan said. A note found on the body said he was “spying for the US,” the official said.

■CHINA

Dragon dancers protest

At least three police officers and 10 civilians were hurt in a riot when traditional dragon dancers protested over being banned from performing, police and state media said yesterday. The disturbance occurred on Sunday in Guizhou Province after police banned the dance out of safety concerns, Xinhua news agency said. The dancers went to the local government in Dejiang County to stage a protest dance but were stopped by police. Clashes ensued that drew in crowds of more than 2,000 people, it said. The Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said the incident drew crowds of more than 10,000 people and at least 50 people were injured. An official with Dejiang’s Public Security Bureau said dragon dancers in Dejiang wear fireworks and consume alcohol, creating a risk.

■INDIA

UK mom told to stay away

The mother of a British teenager who was found dead on a beach last year has been advised not to return to the country because of death threats, her lawyer said yesterday. Vikram Varma said he had warned Fiona MacKeown that it was not safe for her to travel to Goa, where her 15-year-old daughter, Scarlett Keeling, was allegedly drugged and raped. “The threat to her life is quite high,” he said. He declined to elaborate. The lawyer said it was “very clear” that Scarlett had been killed by people linked to the drugs underworld and that the threats against her mother were an attempt to stop her from testifying against two men awaiting trial.

■JAPAN

Enzyme may hinder cancer

Scientists have identified an enzyme that appears to suppress breast cancer and they hope the finding will spur new therapies to control the second most common cancer in the world. At issue is the enzyme CHIP, which experts say can stunt cancer growth by degrading cancer-causing proteins. The enzyme occurs naturally in human breast tissue. In an article published in Nature Cell Biology, the scientists said they injected two kinds of human breast cancer cells into mice. One set carried the CHIP enzyme. Tumors in the group of mice with the enzyme were far smaller, Junn Yanagisawa of the University of Tsukuba said.

■INDONESIA

Flooding strikes Java

Seasonal flooding has inundated hundreds of houses, forced the closure of a regional airport and triggered landslides that killed at least two people, officials said yesterday. Dozens of flights to Semarang, Java, were canceled yesterday after the main runway was submerged, provincial spokesman Achyani said. It was unclear how long the airport would remain closed because heavy rainfall caused by Tropical Cyclone Freddy continued to lash the city of 1.3 million. Two people have died in landslides, one near Semarang and a second in western Java.